Poor Black Youth Not Politically Inclined?

A recent University of Chicago study on 100 young African-Americans from the local community concluded that there is a lack of political activity in this population. Growing up with a black president has failed to inspire increased participation in politics, particularly if respondents are low-income. Other factors such as religious participation affect how black youth choose to engage. Auriel Jamison, a student who participated in the study related:

“Those low-income youth who are involved in politics do so in a traditional way opposed to youth from upper-income households who participate in non-traditional ways… We found that youth from low-income homes felt alienated from the government and Black youth overall felt like second-class citizens.”

The study found that traditional ways for poorer blacks to participate include actually voting (where eligible), while more affluent blacks get involved through social media, engaging in protests via web sites. Interestingly, African-American youth who are religiously active were also found to be more likely to engage in our political process.